By degrees

West Virginia must encourage college

March 16, 2012

Finding ways to get more people to and through college is a critical task facing West Virginians. State leaders recognize that, to the point that it was a key item of discussion at a College Summit meeting this week in Charleston.

Just 17.3 percent of Mountain State residents hold bachelor's or advanced degrees from colleges or universities. That is far below the national average of 27.9 percent.

But while holding the cost of higher education down is vital, it is not the discouragement here that it is in many other states. Among U.S. public institutions of higher learning, the average tuition and fees a student can expect to pay for four years of education is about $33,300. At West Virginia universities, the cost is around $10,000 less. That makes a big difference to Mountain State residents and their parents who are thinking of college.

But while public colleges and universities in our state do a good job of holding costs down, a variety of other factors must be addressed. They range from a traditional culture that too often does not value higher education to ensuring high school graduates are prepared for college.

Through the state, Higher Education Policy Commission solutions are being sought and sometimes proposed. For example, experts say more needs to be done to allow high school students to obtain college credit. That idea is among several provably effective ways to boost college attendance and graduation. Clearly, implementation of such strategies needs to be accelerated. The longer West Virginians delay doing that, the worse the higher education gap will grow.